


In-Between

by Cromm768, Perfectly_Inconspicuous



Category: Persona 5, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Class 1-A Friendship (My Hero Academia), Class 1-A meets a different kind of hero, Class 1-A wasn't prepared for all this tbh, Crossover, Gen, Mementos (Persona 5), Metaverse (Persona 5), Phantom Thieves are badass lmao, Phantom Thieves of Hearts as Family, Supportive Class 1-A (My Hero Academia)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28892226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cromm768/pseuds/Cromm768, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perfectly_Inconspicuous/pseuds/Perfectly_Inconspicuous
Summary: Class 1-A are no strangers to fighting new villains. But they couldn't have predicted one with a quirk like this... Portals rip into the fabric of reality, but it's not Kurogiri. Instead, creatures unlike anything class 1-A has seen crawl out and wreak havoc. If they aren't Nomu's, what are they? The portals open underneath them and our young heroes find themselves battered and bruised in a place the Villain called "the Metaverse".  A group of mysterious teenagers, not much older than their class, finds them and offers to help. But are they as trust worthy as they say? Will they be able to figure out a way home?
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	In-Between

**Author's Note:**

> Let's get this ball rolling!  
> This chapter written by @Cromm768

Streaks of lightning scorched the dark cloudy sky above Kiyashi Ward. With the streets emptied and central shopping center evacuated, Deku heard nothing but wind. Tattered, with the sleeves of his dark green suit torn off by those... things, he propped himself up against one of the concrete poles and gazed at the food court below. The villain was down there somewhere, waiting in the shadows for him and the others to appear. Head-on, well, Deku had no idea what would happen if he attacked him head-on, but he was sure he wouldn’t leave himself open, not with these monsters everywhere. Unraveling the mystery of his quirk had to come first.

At first glance, those silhouetted tall figures looked to be mindless nomus. Drones told to wipe out all and any in their way. But these things transformed; they were otherworldly in nature. The one he fought, the one who nearly took his life, looked like a demon with wings and a long tail. But Bakugo, cut off in one of the maintenance halls, fought one that turned into an owl-human thing, it looked like a freakish experiment gone wrong, or right by this villain’s measure.

What scared Deku the most was this villain, by all accounts, was working alone. He could probably wipe this city clean with his minions if he wanted to. With Aizawa M.I.A. and All Might retired, if they couldn’t defeat the villain on their own, then waiting for the pro-heros to arrive was their only option.

It was up to him to stop the villain no matter what.

The tiles under Deku began to shake. Across the walkway to his right, Tsuyu flung herself towards him, Uraraka wrapped within her tongue. 

“Deku!” Uraraka said. Thankfully, neither looked seriously injured. But the fear in their eyes mirrored his own.

Tsuyu stuck herself on the pole beside him and freed Uraraka from her grasp. Uraraka could only hold herself up for a few seconds before collapsing onto the ground.

“Uraraka! Are you—”

“I’m fine.” She propped herself up to her knees, clutching her stomach, her breathing steady. “Don’t—don’t worry about me. This isn’t enough to stop me.” Beneath her bubbly appearance, beneath her warm and comforting smile was an unstoppable will, a will dreaming for a better future for her family. A scratch here and there wasn’t going to stop her, let alone a stomach ache, and Deku should’ve realized it sooner. Too many times had he failed to see the resolve in his classmates, too many times had he underestimated them. Even now, Tsuyu perched herself on the ceiling, scouting for anymore of those monsters.

The floor rumbled like the thundering clouds above, and as a patter of rain fell through the open area of the mall, the hairs on his neck began to rise. Something—something dreadful was coming. Across the bridge and arising from lower floors, another masked creature appeared. Despite the raw-power of a single nomu, the sight of these things alone was enough to make him hesitate. To fear. What quirk could not only summon minions, but allow them to transform as well? There was no telling what they could do. 

“Deku,” Uraraka said, snapping him back to reality. “Me and Tsuyu can handle this one ourselves. The villain... he’s down there isn’t he?”

Deku nodded. “Jiro tracked him here. I was following her, Kacchan, and Todoroki before we got separated by those monsters. We were all going to take him together, but now...”

“Wait, Ochako,” Tsuyu said. “He can’t just go out there alone, you saw what these things can do.” Her eyes, always big and sharp, locked onto his. “He’ll die. We should retreat, try and find the others and regroup. We can come up with a plan and hopefully by then, the pro-heros will arrive.”

“Tsuyu, I can handle this. If I’m right and his quirk is related to the monsters, we might be able to stop them from rampaging and save—”

“Save the ones still left behind, I know, but we don’t know what his quirk is or what these monsters are. For all we know, it’s a trap. I can’t let you risk yourself again!”

“Tsuyu,” Uraraka sighed.

Deku pushed himself up to his feet, clutching the hem to his hero suit. How many times did All Might find himself in situations like these? How many times did Sir Nighteye yell and scream at him, begging for him to stay, to retreat, to fight for another day? All Might stood at the top for a reason. He wouldn’t back down or lose hope. He’d try every time to save just one more life.

Deku inhaled the humid air, letting the rain calm his nerves as it collided with the cement. Streaks of red light formed on his skin and traveled throughout his body. His power, Full Cowl, was ready and so were his fists. Unable to bear the desperate look on Tsuyu’s face, he turned and jumped onto the railing. “Take care of her for me, Tsuyu.”

He soared across the mall in a blur. What was once a bustling center for kids and families alike was now a ghost town. He supposed they were lucky — it could’ve been a mass graveyard instead.

Screeching to a halt, Deku pinned himself against the high concrete base of a palm tree circling the tables. He couldn’t hear anything but the rain and his own breathing. He scanned each table twice before falling back down to his knees. Empty. The place was hollow and a sense of dread—of death fell on him. Was leaving them behind really the right move? They could be dead. And what about Kacchan and—

“And so another seeks to fight. A mere child too, at that.”

Deku froze. The man’s deep and grisly voice sent chills down his spine. Where was he, and how could Deku not see him? Like a moth to a flame, his eagerness, or rather his selfishness, got the better of him. Was this really a fight he could win?

“What good is a hero who hides in the shadows?” The villain’s voice resonated throughout his body. “Do you wish to run?”

A Kurogiri-like void formed beneath Deku, but unlike Kurogiri, voices—distant voices came from whatever lied beyond. Nothing they said was clear, however. It was the droning mumble of the masses, like the ambience of a busy train station. From the void, an outstretched arm of a monster appeared. Deku watched in horror as it tore and clawed its way out, birthing itself from whatever hell it came from.

“So you fear it, too.”

Deku shot his eyes over to his left. The villain, an older gentleman by his grey beard, sat with legs kicked up at one of the tables. He wore a suit similar to that of La Gentle, but this villain’s aura was different. His grim, almost death-like gaze pierced Deku’s skull and he wore the scars along his face well — something Deku understood.

Landing a good distance away from them, Deku took several deep breaths; getting his bearings was the first and most important thing. Luckily, without even taking a direct fight, he was able to determine the gist of his quirk. It had nothing to do with the monsters. He was portalling them in. From where was unknown. “I—I didn’t think another villain like Kurogiri existed.”

“Do not compare me to the likes of someone as ignorant as him. His goals—the League's ambitions, juvenile. And his power represents that.”

Deku clenched his fists. “Who are you?”

“A tired old man not long for this world.” He sighed. “Born from chaos, I am of the end, The Reaper.” He rose from his seat and gazed at the dark clouds above. “The storm has always been approaching, hero, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

Deku had to stall. A two-on-one fight, with one having a warp quirk and the other being unknown, was too much of a risk. “You want to murder innocents, all for what? Appeasing the fantasy inside your head?” 

“Innocents? Your innocents created shadows and the hell that is the Metaverse.”

“The Metaverse?” Deku’s eyes shot back over to the monster—what the villain called a shadow. Someone created that thing?

“A realm between realms so to speak. What you see before you is no quirk, nor an experiment gone awry.” The shadow groaned and began lumbering towards Deku like a zombie. “But it’s very much so... alive. Magnificent.”

The shadow’s chest burst like a balloon, leaving a murky puddle of colorless mud on the ground, and from it rose a horse-riding knight with dark-red armor. Its presence—or its aura, was completely different to the other shadows.

Deku leaped into the air, activating One For All. As the shadow began to draw its sword, he loaded his arm back for a punch. He was a cornered animal, so it was all or nothing. “Smash!” Deku’s speed caught the horseman off guard as his punch sent it flying into a concrete wall. 

“Oh?” The Reaper clapped his hands. “It seems I underestimated you.” But as the dust settled, the shadow still stood with only a dent on its chest plate. “At least, your courage,” he added. The horse made an ear shattering battle-cry and with the knight’s sword drawn, a cold sweat went down Deku’s neck.

Deku dashed backwards into the rain, feeling a slight twinge in hand. Getting help was ruled out because as far as he could tell, Uraraka and Tsuyu were still fighting. Maybe, if he somehow landed a kick on its head—

“Get out of my way, Deku!” Deku whipped his head around before ducking as Bakugo was charging up an attack in his hand. “AP Shot!” Like firing a gun, his explosion quirk pierced through the knight’s helmet killing it in an instant.

“Kacchan, you’re okay! I didn’t know—”

“Shut up.”

“What?”

Sparkes flared and popped in Bakugo’s hands. “Don’t distract me, not when there’s a villain right there waiting to be killed.” And a sinister, but familiar smile formed on his face. “He’s a geezer, too. Should be a breeze.”

“You have a strong quirk. Indeed, it’s more powerful than your green-haired friend’s,” The Reaper said. “But I’ve seen those willfully arrogant eyes of yours before. Hmm, no doubt you have potential.”

“Yeah, potential for what?”

The Reaper gave a hearty chuckle like the old man he was. “To be a great villain, perhaps?”

“So you think you can fuck with me too, huh?” Bakugo got into a low stance. With his arms by his sides and palms out, he was more than willing to throw himself at the villain without even knowing his quirk. “Die!” 

“Kacchan, don't! He can teleport!”

But just as Bakugo was about to launch himself, a portal opened beneath him and the outstretched hand of a shadow grasped his legs. “Argh, what the—” He blasted the shadow, disintegrating its hands. But several more arms shot up and began dragging him down. “Get—Get off of me!”

Deku shot through the air. “Kacchan!”  _ Not again, I can’t lose you again. _ He ripped, punched, and clawed away at the hands as hard as he could, but his quirk—his  _ strength _ wasn’t enough.

“Deku!” As Bakugo’s voice trailed off into the darkness below, Deku slammed his fist into the ground, hoping it would do something—anything to bring him back.

“He must endure the borderworld, as I once did,” The Reaper said.

Deku’s hands were trembling, but numb to the pain, he gritted his teeth. What kind of hero was he, how he could save thousands of people but couldn't save his best friend? This time, he would not wait. He couldn’t bear the thought of Bakugo in that... hell. Unlike the League, The Reaper sought to make him suffer. It was unforgivable. Through the heavy downpour Deku muttered, “One hundred percent,” and felt the power flowing to his fists.

“Hm.” The Reaper stroked his beard. “It seems you wish to join him as well, a shame, for your power is misaligned with your spirit. It’s as if you can’t use it, or perhaps you’re afraid of your own potential.Or worse: both.”

As lightning streaked across the sky, Deku jumped at the villain with all his might, packing everything he could into a single punch square into his chest. “Smash!” But his emotions got the better of him, and he couldn’t react fast enough to the portal opening in front of him. The darkness of the void filled his eyes.

“Do not worry, Deku, your friends here will be joining you soon. I hope they don’t fear themselves as much as you do.”

...

Hell was humid and a lot bluer than Deku imagined. He was laying on top of something cold, metal-like. It was train tracks.

He tried standing but fell to his knees; his head was spinning and his movements were sluggish. It was like standing in quicksand. Whatever this place was, he had to get out. If The Reaper was telling the truth, which was likely given his demeanor, then this... place—borderworld he said, was home to those shadows.  _ But just what is this place, and why does it exist? _

He leaned against the walls of the tunnel, running his hands along the concrete. Everything was real; no doubt he was in a subway. As impossible as it sounded, The Reaper could teleport people and shadows in between worlds. If the League got a hold of this power...

“No.” Deku focused on his breathing. He had to. It felt as if the walls were closing in and suffocating him alive. The Reaper denounced the League of Villains, so worrying about them was pointless. But a villain like him operating alone with this kind of power was equally, if not more, terrifying. And Deku wasn’t strong enough to stop him. If only he acted sooner—if only he wasn’t afraid, maybe he could’ve saved Kacchan.

If only he wasn’t weak.

To think his provisional license actually meant anything... Deku clenched his hands, only now noticing his cuts and bruises.  _ A hero, a hero like All Might wouldn’t just sit here crying, he would keep going, he would find a way out of here, carrying everyone on his back if he had to.  _ This was the burden of his gifted quirk. If his fate was to become a hero surpassing that of All Might, then he had to keep moving forward.

Deku followed the winding tracks as the words of The Reaper echoed in his mind. He mentioned having to “endure” this place, if that was true, then it was logical to assume he was the master of those shadows. Being trapped in this bluish-haze nightmare—it was terrifying to imagine, and Kacchan was here somewhere.

_ Please, be okay. _

He turned the corner but came face-to-face with another shadow. It roared at him like an animal before transforming into a multi-headed floating sphere. Its demonic heads growled at him, biting the air in front of him. Deku didn’t know what these shadows really were. They had powers similar to quirks and some looked human, but this one was a disgusting abomination. They were like mythical creatures breaking reality.

Deku channeled his power; this time he was going to kill it.

Not giving the shadow a second to react, he used his Iron Soles and punted it straight into the wall. Annihilating it, body disintegrating away. 

“Yes!” This proved another one of his theories right. Some shadows were stronger than others. The one guarding The Reaper for instance...

“Midoriya!” It came from deeper down the tunnel.

Deku didn’t hesitate. “Yaoyorozu, is that you!”

He found what looked to be a station platform. There, Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and thankfully Uraraka and Tsuyu, were battling a longhorned, sword-wielding shadow. Deku’s smile fell. They all were injured, and even though they seemed only minor cuts, the shadow was raising its sword for a killing blow.

“Take this!” Deku leaped into the air, aiming his feet at its sword. “Smash!” He shattered it, enough to destroy the shadow too.

He landed on his feet but as walked towards his classmates, he felt a wobble in his step. It was like he was a boat, and it didn’t help that it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

“Deku!” Uraraka shouted.

As Deku collapsed to the ground, Yaoyorozu ran to him,clutching her side, and wrapped his arm over her shoulder to lift him to his feet. “Midoriya, we have to keep climbing, Bakugo and the others are just up—Midoriya!” Deku consciousness faded before she could finish. 

If this was death, at least he died knowing the others were okay.

...

“Dammit! We’re fucking surrounded!”

“Keep your backs to each other, guys, don’t give ‘em an inch.”

“I don’t want it to end like this, I’m still young and too pretty to die.”

“Denki, shut up and focus.”

Deku awoke to find himself staring at the backs of his eight other classmates, the ones who went hunting for The Reaper with him. “W—what’s going on?”

“Oh so now you wanna stop playing dead,” Bakugo said, barely giving him a glance.

“Kacchan! You’re okay! I—I thought you were—”

“Shut up! Either get up and fight or keep faking your death.” Bakugo said with exasperated breaths. He was reaching his limits, and looking around at the others, Todoroki in particular, it seemed like their quirks were losing their effectiveness.

They were surrounded by a menacing group of shadows. They had swords and clubs that could kill in a single strike. There was one with golden armor over its entire body — impenetrable, if the dents and scratches left were anything to go by.

Deku begged his body for power but it was hopeless. He couldn’t even stand up straight. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! If you enjoyed leave a comment! We'd love to hear what y'all think! This fic is multi POV. Next up: Joker B)


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